The Health Benefits of Everything Pumpkin!

Fall is here. That means it’s pumpkin season! Time for pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and pumpkin everything. This season’s most popular food also happens to be packed with nutrients. Yes, the versatile pumpkin has so many health benefits that it can be considered a superfood.

Here are 5 main health benefits of adding pumpkin to your recipes this holiday season.

Good for weight loss

High in dietary fiber (3 grams per cup, cooked) and low in calories (49 calories per cup), pumpkin makes you feel full faster without adding to your waistline. Pumpkin is especially rich in soluble fiber, the type that forms a gel-like substance when it dissolves in water. Soluble fiber slows digestion by delaying stomach emptying. So not only does it fill you up faster but it helps keep you full in between meals.

Lowers blood sugar

Another benefit of soluble fiber is that it helps control your blood sugar. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate, but we cannot digest it. Our intestines rely on our gut bacteria to do the work. So unlike starches and sugars, fiber does not rapidly raise blood sugar. In fact, it can even lower it. A New England Journal of Medicine study showed that people with diabetes who ate a very high fiber diet that included 50 grams per day, particularly high in soluble fiber, were able to lower their blood sugar compared to those who ate a lower amount of fiber.

Rich in beta-carotene and vitamin C, both potent antioxidants, as well as potassium, pumpkin has cardiovascular health benefits. The antioxidant compounds found in pumpkin, as well as other fruits and vegetables, may influence cardiovascular health by preventing oxidative damage involved in the process of atherosclerosis. In a study among Massachusetts residents followed for nearly five years, those with a diet with the highest amount of beta-carotene had approximately half the risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to those with a diet with the lowest amount.

One cup of cooked pumpkin contains over 200% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin A, which is essential for good eyesight. Our bodies use beta-carotene, the compound that gives pumpkin its orange pigment, to make vitamin A. Vitamin A helps the retina convert light into signals that can be interpreted by the brain. Combined with the vitamins C and E, also found in pumpkin, beta-carotene may help slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration.